Ethan Hawke and Austin Amelio appear in “The Weight” by Padraic McKinley, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Matteo Cocco)
By Ramona Flume
Summer is winding down, school is back in session, and the days are already getting shorter. But the release calendar for Sundance Institute–supported films continues to expand, with a stacked slate that swings from archival deep dives and family dramas to surprising documentaries and dark comedies. Whether you’re chasing some back-to-school nostalgia or just looking to play hooky at the theater, consider this sprawling, genre-hopping lineup of films a September syllabus to see you through the season’s turn.
Between Festival premieres, Institute-supported projects, and theatrical rereleases, this month’s selections cover a lot of ground. On the documentary side, we’ve got a synth-soaked look at Vietnamese American counterculture, intimate portraits of both Barbara Hammer and Salman Rushdie, a scrappy student newsroom exposé, a sobering excavation of AI’s troubled roots, and John Wilson’s meandering deep dive into, of all things, concrete. (A beloved ’90s fashion documentary also returns to theaters three decades after it first defined the genre.) New narrative premieres deliver a gold-smuggling trek through hostile wilderness, an island oddball comedy, a Tokyo ballroom dancer finding her rhythm again, a father-son bond tested by ghostly visions, a real-life sister duo anchoring a caregiving drama, and even a spite-fueled middle school musical meant to sabotage a principal’s success.
New Wave — What starts as a music documentary delves into something much more personal as director Elizabeth Ai pulls the curtain back on the ’80s New Wave counterculture scene as experienced by Vietnamese American refugees in Orange County, California. Ai set out to tell a diasporic story defined by joy and creative expression rather than trauma, and the doc is full of big hair, fun Euro-synth tracks, and a distinctly rebellious ’80s style. But the film, developed with support from Sundance Institute’s Catalyst program, transcends the surface allure of the defiant music scene, exploring it as a cultural refuge wherein a young generation could feel at home, while uncovering some surprising family histories in the process. Streaming on Criterion Channel September 1.
Barbara Forever — Director Brydie O’Connor’s debut feature is a singular tribute befitting its subject: Barbara Hammer, whose avant-garde vision helped establish lesbian cinema as a boundary-breaking force in the 1960s. True to Hammer’s own belief that “radical content deserves radical form,” O’Connor forgoes a conventional biography of the fearless artist — instead weaving together Hammer’s own words and reflections from her spouse, alongside a sensuous carousel of her archival footage. What emerges is a portrait less concerned with chronology than with transformation, following Hammer through shifting relationships to her art, her body, and, finally, her mortality after receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Barbara Forever premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary. Coming to select theaters September 4.
Teenage Wasteland — In the early ’90s, a New York teacher handed his students camcorders and turned his high school English class into an investigative newsroom. What began as a media literacy project became an earnest hunt for the truth when his students explored rumors that a nearby landfill was quietly poisoning the town’s water, and through their gumshoe efforts, exposed even higher levels of local corruption. Directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (Boys State) unearthed 500 hours of the students’ archival footage to create their documentary, which debuted in the 2025 Festival’s Premieres section. It’s a throwback, yet evergreen, story about how young people, when trusted with real responsibility, can enact real change. Streaming on Netflix September 4.
If I Go Will They Miss Me — Walter Thompson-Hernández built out his 2022 short film of the same name into this feature-length family drama steeped in magical realism and set against the backdrop of South Los Angeles. The story follows Lil Ant (Bodhi Dell), a 12-year-old boy navigating an uneasy bond with his father, Big Ant (J. Alphonse Nicholson), who’s newly out of prison and trying to piece his family back together. When Lil Ant starts noticing surreal, ghostlike figures appear around the neighborhood, the line between what’s real and imagined is blurred, and an unlikely bond between father and son starts to form. The film received support during development from Sundance Institute’s Feature Film and Catalyst programs before premiering in the 2026 Festival’s NEXT section. Coming to select theaters September 11; expanding September 18.
Ghost in the Machine — Director Valerie Veatch (Love Child) traces the tangled, troubling history behind today’s AI boom in this clear-eyed documentary, which premiered in the NEXT section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Featuring testimony from more than 30 experts, including Mutale Nkonde and Dr. Emily M. Bender, the film connects the dots between the eugenicist and racist theories of early statisticians, the rise of Silicon Valley, and today’s tech elite — all while pushing back against the doom-and-gloom predictions that AI is inevitable or unstoppable. Sharp and unsettling, Veatch closes with surprisingly hopeful notes on accountability, community, and what lies ahead for our changing world. Airing on PBS “Independent Lens” September 14.
Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie — Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief) chronicles the 2022 stabbing attack that almost claimed author Salman Rushdie’s life, along with the grueling months of physical and emotional healing that followed. Built largely around Rushdie’s own account and previously unreleased footage shot by his wife, the poet and photographer Rachel Eliza Griffiths, the film sticks close to its protagonist (at times, uncomfortably close) as he relearns how to move, rehabilitate his body and mind, and ultimately reclaim his voice. A deeply personal, difficult watch that doesn’t shy away from the violence at its center and ultimately lands on resilience, creative freedom, and joy, this title screened at the 2026 Festival. Coming to select theaters September 17.
The History of Concrete — Fans of John Wilson’s offbeat, observational style will recognize the rhythm of his feature directorial debut, even if they can’t predict where it will go. Following the success of his HBO series How To with John Wilson, the documentarian attempts to alight on which of his latest fixations could be turned into a film. And we get a first-person view of his subsequent (and deeply meandering) creative scavenger hunt, stumbling into a Hallmark movie screenwriting class and, yes, a deep dive on concrete, before veering off into dozens of other side quests. As with all of Wilson’s projects, this documentary, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, is less about following his initial objective from point A to B — and more about the unexpected revelations that emerge when he starts paying attention to the ground beneath his feet. Coming to select theaters September 18.
The Musical — Breakups can be brutal. And nothing says “I’m fine” like weaponizing a middle school drama department for a personal vendetta. Giselle Bonilla’s audacious feature debut stars Will Brill as Doug, a failed playwright-turned-teacher whose life is unraveling: dumped, passed over for fellowships, and now watching his ex (Gillian Jacobs) date the school’s golden boy, glory-chasing principal (Rob Lowe). His outrageously petty response: convince his students to mount an original musical shocking enough to annihilate his boss’s reputation. The film, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Festival, mines dark comedy from Doug’s unbridled, increasingly maniacal intentions while letting his students’ earnest, unwitting commitment to the bit humanize the entirely absurd production. Coming to theaters September 18.
The Weight — Separated from his daughter and imprisoned in a Depression-era labor camp, Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) strikes a desperate deal with a warden (Russell Crowe): smuggle stolen gold through treacherous Oregon backcountry in exchange for his freedom. Padraic McKinley’s rugged survival drama, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, follows a punishing trek that strips Murphy to his rawest instincts alongside shifty-eyed cohorts, with memorable supporting performances by Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, and Avi Nash. Sweeping cinematography and a haunting score accentuate this harrowing tale about how far one man will go to get back to his family. Coming to theaters September 18.
Take Me Home — Writer-director Liz Sargent’s feature debut casts her real sister, Anna Sargent, as a Korean adoptee navigating life with a cognitive disability alongside her elderly parents in Florida. Their household runs on quiet interdependence — everyone pitching in physically and emotionally to stay afloat — until a sudden crisis threatens to tear their fragile system of familial caregiving apart. Expanded from Sargent’s earlier short film and shaped through an improvisational process that gave Anna creative control over her scenes, this family drama draws its warmth and honesty from the heart of the newcomer actor’s authentic performance. Take Me Home premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Festival and won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic. Coming to select theaters September 23.
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! — Grief and desire intertwine on the dance floor in this Tokyo-set drama, as a former competitive dancer, coaxed back by friends after a devastating loss, finds herself drawn to her new instructor. Rinko Kikuchi anchors the film with a tender lead performance, moving through dance sequences that double as fantasy and memory as she transcends pain, sorrow, and her own passionate reawakening. In addition to elegant choreography and a high-energy soundtrack, director Josef Kubota Wladyka employs playful touches — including a nod to Japan’s mascot culture — to soften the film’s heavier themes. The genre-bending, musically driven film, which won the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2026 Festival, shows that movement is a truly powerful act of resilience. Coming to theaters September 25.
The Incomer — A pair of siblings (Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke) living alone on a remote Scottish island aren’t about to give up their home without a fight. When a hapless public servant (Domhnall Gleeson) shows up to inform them their land is being seized, they simply take him captive instead. What follows is a quirky comedy about isolation and connection, as the deeply suspicious island dwellers and their bumbling hostage slowly find common ground. Writer-director Louis Paxton’s feature debut, which won the NEXT Innovator Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, blends slapstick laughs with genuine tenderness, creating a sincere meditation on what it means to feel cut off from others, whether by geography or grief, and what happens when we come together. Coming to theaters September 25.
Unzipped — This landmark fashion doc rewinds to 1994, when a young, ambitious Isaac Mizrahi made a mad dash to the runway ahead of a make-or-break New York Fashion Week show. Fashion-photographer-turned-director Douglas Keeve captures every frantic fitting and flash of temper with an insider’s eye, aided by cinematographer Ellen Kuras’ slick shifts between black and white and color. It doesn’t hurt that the film’s cast of characters includes Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Kate Moss, all lending their supermodel pedigree to what is widely regarded as the blueprint for the fashion documentary as we know it. Newly restored, Unzipped made its way back to the Festival’s From the Collection section in 2025, 30 years after it first helped define the genre at its 1995 Festival premiere, where it won the Audience Award: Documentary. Rereleasing to theaters September 25.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is underway! Traveling to all corners of the United States and beyond in the following months, the program features six short films selected from the 2026 Festival, including three Festival Award–winning titles. Check here for dates and venues; see below for dates in September.
- Columbus, Ohio, September 1, Wexner Center for the Arts
- New York, New York, September 2–8, IFC Center
- Louisville, Kentucky, September 4–6, Speed Museum
- Honolulu, Hawai‘i, September 4–24, Honolulu Museum of Art
- Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 9, Wealthy Theatre
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 10–13, PhilaMOCA
- San Diego, California, September 18–24, Digital Gym
- Ithaca, New York, September 19–25, Cornell Cinema
